The Cold War: A History in Documents

Pages from History

by Allan M. Winkler

The cold war--the bitter standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union--lasted for over 50 years and polarized the world. The conflict had its roots in political and ideological disagreements dating back to the Russian Revolution of 1917--disagreements that intensified in the wake of
World War II. Allan M. Winkler excerpts speeches by Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to demonstrate the growing abyss between the two political systems. President Harry S. Truman's announcement of the existence of a Soviet atomic bomb and his speech to
Congress launching the Truman Doctrine testify to the gravity of the situation. The cold war was not always "cold"--armed conflicts were narrowly avoided in the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs, and war did erupt in Korea and Vietnam. The complex politics of the Vietnam War are represented
by voices as divergent as Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh, President Lyndon B. Johnson, antiwar protesters, and a participant in the My Lai massacre.
Cold war paranoia permeated American society. The investigations of writer Ring Lardner, Jr., and government official Alger Hiss by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, along with speeches by Senator Joe McCarthy, lay bare the political repression at home generated by the perceived communist
threat. Excerpts from Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and the film script of High Noon capture the mood of uncertainty and fear. A picture essay entitled "The Atom Unleashed" collects photographs and cartoons to explore one of the most controversial discoveries of the 20th century. Agreements made
in the SALT treaties show the cold war finally coming to an end. In his 1992 State of the Union address, President Bush declared, "By the grace of God, America won the cold war."

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction

160 pages, Library Binding

First published February 15, 2001

About the author

Allan M. Winkler is Distinguished Professor of History at Miami University of Ohio.

Reviews

[Ina S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful overview of the early Cold War and its impact - politically, domestically, etc. Great for educators (especially historians of the US) looking to develop a Cold War lesson or unit. The introduction is well-written a readable, ideal for high school students or first-year university students. All of the books in this collection are excellent.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cold War: A History in Documents, is a book that explains the cold war with much detail, it describes the Cold War with graphic details that make each moment seem like a thriller. I read about nuclear warfare in the cold war and I learned much about it. I learned in great detail how the events happened, when they happened, and why they happened. It described how the Cold War was elevated much by the threat of nuclear weapons. The beginning of the atomic bomb in WWII was displayed with a letter from Einstien to Roosevelt displaying concern about the threat of Germany and the Soviet Union. Then it goes into the Vietnam war and how MacCarthur was relieved from duty after considering nuclear warfare. It takes into consideration that the Cuban Missile Crisis was a crisis and that a nuclear winter was almost started. It ends with newer weapons and treaties finally being made to stop testing bombs. Then Reagan makes a step unmatchable by the Soviet Union.
The book is oddly structured so the normal writing is a document and the bold writing is explanation by the author, I have never seen that before. But other than that, it is very good and makes it easy for the reader to understand. There are pictures, diagrams, captions, documents, and good explanations. It is for the most part very well organized. The author clearly knew a lot about the Cold War and had done his research. The author is a little biased towards the United States of America, but that is just how the world is. The format could have been improved a little. This book is for jr. high school and high school students. People can learn about the cold war from this book and how it happened and the results. It was a good book.

[Bryana Beaird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would hesitate to recommend this book. Despite its claim to rely on documents for evidence, the author’s bias toward modern liberalism is made all too evident. While Winkler does try to approach most issues more or less objectively, some statements he quotes (or makes himself) serve as windows into his own ‘progressive’ worldview. Take, for example, one towards the beginning of the book which deplores the fact that women in the US during the 1950s “could identify with nothing beyond the home – not politics, not art, not science, not events large or small, war or peace, in the United States or the world…” A discerning reader may be able to pick out the fact from the opinion, but I’m going to keep looking for a better book on the Cold War.

[Alycia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only learned one new thing from this book and I have already forgotten it.
The person who donated it to the library had done a lot of underlining and writing in the margin. At first I was annoyed but then I realized she was right and she probably was more informed than Winkler appears, using only American sources.
He also spends way too much time on McCarthyism and not enough on countries that were destroyed by the USA in the name of "capitalism" despite that these countries had democratic elections.